stage for president clinton's big convention address tomorrow night right after tonight's "special report," join joe trippi and me for a special triter town hall. you can ask questions now at hash tag fnc town hall. watch us live on fox news.com, 10:00 p.m. tonight. we continue fair, balanced and unafraid. >> shep: this is the fox report. tonight live from charlotte, north carolina, the democrats getting started. we'll look at what's ahead from the convention floor, plus president obama, rates himself on his handling of our economy. and the republicans respond. >> you've had 3 1/2 years to fix it, what grade would you give yourself so far? >> you know, i would say incomplete. >> shep: the white house says president obama just needs more time. republicans say time is up. >> this out of control deficit, this spiraling debt is not only a threat to our economy today, it is bankrupting the next

generation. >> shep: tonight grading the president's performance on a defining issue in this election. and a look at julian castro. the young american mayor who is delivering the keynote address from his mother's influence. >> she gave me a sense that public service could be noble. >> to what supporters say about his similarities to the president. >> i'm very flattered by the comparisons. >> shep: how he's set to make history tonight. plus, michelle obama scheduled to take the stage to talk up her husband. but there is one thing you should absolutely not expect to hear her say. and how her speech could compare with that of ann romney at the rnc. but first from fox's tuesday night live from charlotte, the democratic national convention is now officially underway. and how is this for timing? today the national debt clock topped $16 trillion for the first time in u.s. history.

we'll have more on that a little later with gather are you willis. we'll three hours away from the headliners, including the first lady, michelle obama. she checked out the stage yesterday. president obama says he can not compete with the first lady, calling her the star of the obama family. >> i'm going to be at home and i'm going to be watching her with our girls and i am going to try not to let them see their daddy cry. because when michelle starts talking i start getting all misty. >> shep: tonight's other big speech, the keynote address from none other than julian castro, the mayor of san antonio, texas. he is but 37 years old and the first latino keynote speaker at any democratic national convention. of course, it was the 2004 keynote that introduced most americans to a little known illinois state senator named barak obama. eight years later, president obama will be speaking at another convention trying to convince voters to send him back

to 1600 pennsylvania avenue. he says he needs a second term to finish cleaning up the economic mess that he inherited. republicans, of course, are pouncing on this comment about what grade he'd give himself for the job he's done so far. listen to this. >> i would say incomplete. historically after these big financial crises, where a lot of people are dealing with debt or a collapse of the housing market, that creates bigger challenges and we're seeing this not just here in the united states, but around the world. >> four years into a presidency examine it's incomplete? the president is asking people just to be patient with him? look, charlie, the kind of recession we had, we should be bouncing out of it, creating jobs. we're not creating jobs at near the pace we could. >> shep: before today's back and forth, our latest fox news poll showed governor romney and congressman paul ryan leading the president and vice president by two points when it comes to the economy. of course, that is a statistical

tie. let's get things started with team fox coverage. carl cameron, campaign guy, live in vermont with governor romney. and ed henry live here. obama campaign staffers are saying the incomplete comment isn't really anything new at all. >> that's because you're right. he has said this before, when interviewers asked him. what they're not mentioning is that after his first year in office, oprah winfrey asked him this question and at that time, the president did not say incomplete. he said he deserved a b plus and said if he passed health care reform valley, he should get an a minus. that gives you an idea of what he once said examine what he's saying now. then there was this, the convention chairman, mayor of los angeles, today came out and suggested that just for trying to turn around the economy, the president deserves even higher marks. take a listen. >> i give him an a for effort. i give him an a for making sure that americans are better off

today than they were four years ago. i think he's being humble when he says that. i do believe that we need four more years. >> the obama campaign believes that the president will get high marks from voters for effort considering what he did inherit from the bush administration. on the other hand, they're also going to look at his record and with the $16 trillion in debt you mentioned, 8.3% unemployment, those will be big factors as well. >> shep: yeah, they will. the president says he plans to send the message that he can finish the job if we just give him four more years. >> that's right that. is going to be the key about his speech on thursday night. we all know sort of what led to all of this in terms of the financial crisis. we've already heard the president talk about what he believes he's been doing for the last 3 1/2 years. today he previewed his thursday night acceptance speech by saying he's going to focus a lot instead on what he wants to do in a second term. take a listen. >> the other side may not have been eag tore talk about their

ideas, but on thursday night, i'm going to look forward to sharing mine with you. on thursday night, i will offer what i believe is a better path forward. a path that will create good jobs and strengthen our middle class and grow our economy. >> senior obama campaign advisors believe he has a good opportunity thursday night because they say when mitt romney gave his sevennance speech left out a lot of the details about his economic plan. they think the president can jump ahead here examine talk about the future. obviously that's more advantageous to him. talk about the future and not the past. shep? >> shep: ed henry live on the floor of the coliseum and a rowdy floor it is. republican presidential nominee mitt romney is taking a few days to prepare and rehearse. they tell us for next month's presidential debates, but his running mate is going strong on the campaign trail tonight. the vice presidential nominee paul ryan made stops today, cleveland, ohio, cedar rapids,

iowa, and asked the voters whether they're better off now than before president obama took office. >> remember ronald reagan talking about jimmy carter? are you better off now than you were four years ago? >> no! >> you know what? we knew then. we know it now. they fired carter and they hired egger. we're going to do the same thing this time. >> shep: you'll notice even the sign on paul ryan's podium asks the question, are you better off? no missed opportunities here issues at least not on that front. democrats say president obama inherited a lot of problems and certainly he did. and they contend he's making progress on fixing them. but the republicans say he's had enough time. team fox coverage continues. why in the world are you in vermont? >> hi, shep. governor romney is actually taking some time to prepare for the debates next month. there will be three presidential debates and a vice presidential debate. essentially consuming almost all of october. that will be a heck of a sprint to the election day.

so it really matters. he's here in woodstock, vermont at the home of his former lieutenant governor in massachusetts, kerry healy, where they're doing a whole bunch of debate prep. book work, as well as rehearsals. he'll be doing so opposite rob portman. he will play the role of barak obama and sparring partner and they're going to go through some of the things that they expect and anticipate will be part of the debate content once that time rolls around. the democratic national convention is underway, the romney campaign figured this was the best opportunity to do it. when you have paul ryan campaigning, he's a pretty good surrogate and can carry the ball once in a while. >> shep: a lot of republicans in charlotte are working hard at counter programming. >> very aggressively. it's not just paul ryan who took it on the road to ohio and iowa today. but today there was a big, big push back on the president's attempt to grade himself or not with an incomplete and the surrogates who stepped forward were john sununu, and nikki haley, the south carolina

governor. first female governor of the state. and she took it to the president for this incomplete grade he gave himself a pretty interesting comparison. watch? >> i have a ten-year-old and 14-year-old. i know what's on their report card and they came home with an incomplete, they means they failed. unless there is summer school. there is no summer school. so he is basically said, i didn't get the job done. >> republicans are doing everything they can to sort of hone in on the democrats. their job is to try to overshadow or undercut it in any way possible. the big buzz phrase of the whole convention has been about bracketing. democrats did it for the republicans in tampa. now the republicans turn around as fair play. so are they in charlotte. >> shep: carl cameron, looks like a beautiful night in woodstock, vermont. thank you. we have guests from both sides of the political aisle coming up. we'll hear from the communication director for the republican national committee. examine the dnc chairwop, debbie wasserman schultz. first, a look how the democrats' platform has changed when it comes to god and israel.

there are big changes ahead from the journalist of fox news on this tuesday, fox report live from charlotte, north carolina. and the floor of the democratic national convention, this is america's choice for news examine information on cable. it is great to have you with us.

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call... and lock in your rate for 12 months today. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? >> shep: 13 minutes past the hour on a loud floor of the democratic national convention. it's microphone night, so you can hear from time to time. outside the arena, republicans today shifting gears from slamming what's in the democratic party platform to attacks what's not in the platform. specifically tonight, the fact that there is no mention at all of jerusalem, the capital of israel. it's a big change from four years ago. in 08, the democratic platform read in part, and i quote, jerusalem is and will remain the capital of israel. the parties have agreed that jerusalem is a matter for final status negotiation. it should remain an undivided

city, accessible to people of all faiths, unquote. the democratic national committee today responded saying the white house maintains an unshakeable commitment to israel's security. the romney camp says president obama's record with israel suggests otherwise. john roberts is here with us on the floor of the democratic national convention with more on this little matter. hello, jonathan. >> hey. good evening to you. the obama campaign is saying no big deal about the removal of jerusalem as the poe continues capital of israel saying this was focused on preserving israel's security and that not declaring jerusalem as a capital of israel is merely consistent with this administration's policy and the policy of previous administrations as well. republicans, particularly the romney campaign, believe that that is going too far. mitt romney you'll remember in july, in israel, said jerusalem is the capital and tim scott, congressman from south carolina, thinks this could come back to haunt the democrats because 78% of jewish voters voted for president obama in 08. he thinks that might be different this time around.

listen. >> i think it's a major mistake. jerusalem is the capital of israel and should always remain the capital of israel for there to be any wiggle room there, i think sends a very negative message to those who oppose jerusalem as a capital. and also sends a negative message to the americans who support israel. >> there was another dustup about israel. debbie wasserman schultz, you may ask her about this, reportedly said in a meeting that she was told by the israeli ambassador to the united states that the republicans' position toward president obama's policies was dangerous for israel. ambassador said i never said that. the dnc came out of the and said, debbie warsman schultz never said that. we're trying to figure out what's going on here and who said what about who. >> shep: i'll serpulae ask her about it. she'll be on in just a phi minutes. there's a controversy that democrats left the word god out of the party platform. what's that about? >> 2008, the word god was mentioned once in the democratic

party platform. that was in the preamble. we'll put it up. this is basically encouraging government to allow people to reach their god given potential. now in 2012, though, people are being encouraged to go as far as their talent examine drive will take them. if you contrast that to the republican platform that we saw last week, they mentioned god ten times. and the word god has been mentioned more times in previous democratic platforms. the dnc, obama campaign saying again, no big deal. they have an entire section on there in faith. but if you look at what senator dick durbin said to bret baier about an hour ago, he was basically accusing fox news of making democrats to look like godless people, simply for asking the question, why did you take the word out of the platform? >> shep: john roberts, thanks. the head of california's democratic party is apologizing after comparing the republicans to nazis. he accused paul ryan of lying

during his acceptance speech at the republican convention, but then burton said this. >> they're willing to say they lie and they don't care if people think they lie, as long as you lie. joseph goebel, the big lie, you keep repeating it. >> shep: joseph goebel was hitler's prom banda chief. burton said he never used the word nazi and we can't say that he did. he also says, quote, if mitt romney, paul ryan, or the republicans are insulted by my describing their campaign dactic as the big lie, i most humbly apologize to them, or anyone who might have been offended by that comment. first lady michelle obama due to speak in charlotte later this evening. we'll look what she's expected to say. new poll numbers show the president is losing support among women voters. that's next. plus the national debt hit an unwelcome milestone just as the democrats kick off their convention today. context, perspective, and the

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>> shep: the first lady, michelle obama, set to speak at the democratic national convention in charlotte. a little more than three hours from now. fox news will have live coverage. last week governor mitt romney's wife, ann, spoke at the republican convention in tampa. of course, both presidential campaigns are making a big push for women voters. after all, there are more women than men in this country. and a new abc news "washington post" poll shows the president's approval rating among women dropped from 57% in april to 46% now. in fact, more women now say they have an unfavorable opinion of him. martha mac callum is here.

that makes the first lady's speech really all the more important. what are we expecting from her in. >> indeed it does. what we're hearing from the campaign is that she will basically be a character witness of sorts for the president, that she's not going to attack mitt romney. she's going to come out and talk about what it's been like to be by his side for 3 1/2 years as he's made difficult decisions, basically in many ways, we'll hear a similar argument, although they're she different women, michelle obama and ann romney, in men ways, their job is the same. we're going to hear you can trust my husband. he's a good man. let's listen to a little bit of ann romney in tampa, hear what she had to say then. >> i can't tell you what will happen over the next four years, but i can only stand here tonight as a wife and a mother and a grandmother, an american and make you this solemn commitment. this man will not fail! [ cheers and applause ] >> yeah. so that's the message. he's my husband.

you can trust him. we'll hear lot of that from michelle obama tonight. >> shep: i'm sure we will. michelle observe eastbound is a very popular first lady. >> she absolutely is. let's look at her approval numbers. 61% is the number that we have for you. there are similar polls out there as well. this is a rasmussen report. when you sort of add these numbers together for michelle obama, she comes out to 61% who have a favorable opinion of her. you can see mrs. romney's numbers come out to 54%. a little more spendsity on the very favorable side for michelle obama. some would argue that folks are still get to go know ann romney. >> shep: that makes sense. ann romney has been on the attack as the campaign planned. >> it's interesting because they want to present michelle obama as someone who does not take on that job. when you look at what ann romney has been saying in recent days, she's not hesitating to basically say that she thinks that her husband would be a grownup in the white house, which is a big thing.

which is a dig at the president. >> shep: so we'll watch the first lady tonight and let the people decide. >> yes, big job. to move undecided to rev up the base and get undecided voters. so really they think michelle observe eastbound is a strong force for them. >> shep: great to see you. >> you, too. >> shep: enjoy the night shift. political observe also tell you things in charlotte are not the same as we saw in denver four years ago. it never stops raining here for one thing. i mean, never. new orleans last week, it rained. this rivals it. now democrats are trying to reignite some of that sort of excitement that they had back in 08 in denver. up next, a look what they're doing to rally the troops here. the fox news sunday host chris wallace will join us, if we're feeling so inclined. live from the democratic national convention, we're approaching the bottom of the hour and the top of the news on america's choice for news examine information on cable.

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there. one kept a tally of the total national debt. the other showed how much it went up while the convention was in session. more than 8 1/2 billion dollars with a b. no sign of any debt clock here at the dnc. the democrats say the gop's proposed budget could ultimately kill millions of jobs. gerri willis is live this evening. it seems the democrats still tonight want to talk attention to the debt, even though congress people on both sides of the aisle had plenty to do with it. >> listen, $5 trillion of that came on obama's watch. that's one reason they're not looking at the numbers today. as soon as it ticked over to $16 trillion, you better believe that the romney campaign came out swinging, saying that obama left americans worse off than when he took office. now we also discussed it over the weekend, obama advisor david axelrod had this to say. >> the president's plan would do what the simpson bowles plan would do, cut the deficit by 4 trillion dollars, reduce it to

under our deficit to under 3% of the gross domestic product, which is what everybody agrees we need to stabilize the debt. and then with growth we'll northbound a position to begin reducing it further. >> shep, he said cutting the debt too quickly could hurt the economy and cost jobs. >> shep: give us some context for how large that $16 trillion number is. that's a hard one to wrap your hands around. >> it's big, big, big. we did some math to help you out here. it would be as if you were buying 9400 space shuttles. think about that. 9400 space shuttles. they don't make them anymore. or you bought the new york yankees 8600 times over because the team and the most expensive in sports, cost $2 billion. or you bought the most expensive company, hook, sink and barrel, apple, 25 times over. they have a $632 billion market cap. the short answer here, our debt is equal to the combined

economies of all of europe, shep. so it's really, really, really big number. >> shep: lot of money. gerri willis from fox business, thanks very much. live from the business news room in new york city. chris wallace is with us. that's a big number and both sides say they have a plan to fix it. but nobody gives specifics on either side. after the president says he will on thursday night, but i haven't heard anything really. >> no. it really is a failure on both sides. in fact, one of the questions i asked david axelrod on fox news sunday is when does the president, according to his budget plan, balance the budget? it was kind of a trick question because i knew the answer. never. and even paul ryan for all the talk about balancing the budget, he doesn't do it 'til 2030 or 2040. so nobody -- for all the talk about budget cutting, neither is really addressing this huge and growing problem with the country. >> shep: they're not because those questions require answers that people don't want to hear.

and politicians don't want to give answers that people don't want to hear. what we're going to see now back here, chris, is a tribute to former president carter. they bought video together, the democrats have, and between us over our shoulders, this video will play. these ladies have been speaking for the last 12 minutes or so 'cause the convention is very much underway. it's my understanding that president carter is going to speak to the vengeeers. >> interesting because the republicans are trying to link obama to carter saying, the only other president who came seeking reelection where you weren't better off four years earlier was jimmy carter and now to barak obama. they're going to pay tribute to carter and carter will speak from a video hookup. but it's not a comparison democrats like. >> shep: with your journalist hat on, isn't it possible to say we are better off? i mean, you could make that argument and make it succinctly. we were in a free fall. i remember the day we thought

the whole economy of the world was going to collapse and a lot has been done to improve things, hasn't it in. >> there is no question that we are not at the precipice and the way that we were in january of 2009, you're exactly right. remember that day in march when the dow jones went down to 6,000. so we. we're better off than that, but unemployment is up, debt is up. here is jimmy carter. >> shep: here is president carter. >> president of the united states, i said then that america needed a president who shares your dreams and thinks a strengthen and wisdom from you, the american people. ladies and gentlemen, both now and for the next four years we have such a leader in the white house. something you realize quickly in the oval office is that the easy decisions are not the ones that make the way to your desk. whether issues of war and peace or grave economic matters, either popular or unpopular, only a president can make those most difficult choices.

in those moments, it takes more than a grasp of policy. it takes integrity and understanding of why examine whom you serve. from president obama's first day in office, i watched him. as i know you have. face these tough decisions and always put the interest of middle class americans above those who often with a larger wallets, have an ever louder voice. i've admired him for that. because president obama sits behind that desk, every day people, from plains, georgia to pittsburgh, have someone who is on their side. thinking about them, working to give them an equal chance in life. in four short years, he has worked to avert economic calamity, brought a end to the war in iraq examine signed into law historic health care reform. a dream that was already decades overdue. when i called for it at this convention 36 years ago. he has done it all in the face of bitter, unyielding, in fact,

unprecedented partisan opposition. president obama has restored the reputation of the united states within the world community. dialogue and collaboration are once again possible with return of spirit of trust and goodwill to our foreign policy. of course, there remains much to do. communities across america and in countries around the world, life is too hard for too many people. we see their struggles and our hearts go out to them. in the coming years, our hands must continue to reach out to them. yet for all that remains to be done, at home and abroad, the evidence is overwhelming. president obama is a leader for america as we face thian slaught of some of the most economicked, domestic and international challenges to confront any u.s. president in modern times. it's up to all of us to make sure that the american people understand exactly what is at

stake and at risk in this election. with president obama in the oval office, we can make good progress toward becoming a fairer, stronger, more prosperous and inclusive america. a nation adjusted to changing and challenging times. holding true to oncoming principles. a leader among the community of nations. next month, god willing, i will enter the 88th year of my life and one month later, we will enter a voting booth and cast another vote for barak obama and joe biden. we will do so with the confidence and conviction that they understand the challenges and difficult choices that face our nation and our people. in fact, all peoples of the world in the years ahead. one thing i have learned over my lifetime as a submarine officer, as president, and as leader of the carter center, that the biggest challenges and problems that we face don't lend

themselves to quick fixes, nor to the snappy rhetoric of a television commercial. solutions are complex and difficult, requiring the judgment, skill and patience to pursue the right policies for the right reasons. there is a clear choice facing voters this november. and i am confident that when the facts and policies have been examined, when the record and performances have been reviewed, barak obama and joe biden will be elected to lead our beloved country to a better future. thank you. [ cheers and applause ] >> shep: president carter speaking by video to the delegates here at the democratic national convention in charlotte, 87 years old. man alive. a rising star in the democratic party is set to deliver the keynote address at the democratic national convention tonight. he is the san antonio mayor, julian castro. he rose from what are no doubt humble roots all the way to

harvard. more on his story in the gop's huge polling gap with hispanic voters coming up. as fox reports live coverage continues from the democratic national convention in charlotte. stay with us ation for events to. well somewhere along the way, emily went right on living. but you see, with the help of her raymond james financial advisor, she had planned for every eventuality. ...which meant she continued to have the means to live on... ...even at the ripe old age of 187. life well planned. see what a raymond james advisor can do for you.

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>> shep: we'll see history tonight here at the democratic national convention in charlotte when the mayor of san antonio, julian castro, takes the stage. he'll become the first latino keynote speaker in dnc history. mayor castro is the ripe old age of 37. and already running america's 7th largest city. in fact, when president obama first met him a couple of years ago, joked at the time about mistaking him for an intern. we have video of jewel can castro on the floor earlier today. he has a twin brother, you may see them together. it's sometimes confusing. he may seem young, but he's been around this sort of thing his whole life. >> the story of my family and so

many families across the united states from different parts of the country represent an american dream story. >> shep: it's a story that began two generations ago in mexico. >> my grandmother came here from mexico when she was a young girl. she dropped out of elementary school and she worked as a maid, a cook examine baby-sitter so my mother could have a good shot in life. >> shep: julian castro and his twin brother were born in san antonio in 1974. their mother at one point ran for city council and shared her love of politics with the boys. >> they got dragged around to a lot of meetings and voting booths and rallies. >> who wants to do that when they're ten years old? you get sick of it. >> shep: yet he says his mother's activism motivated him. he skipped the tenths grade and later earned a scholarship to attend stanford university. he went on to grath graduate from harvard in 2000. >> going into law school started to seriously think about running

for office and after that, jumped into it whole hog. >> shep: in 2001, julian castro filed the paperwork to run for city council. >> this is a lot of work to be done. but i'm looking forward to helping to do that in the next two years. >> shep: he won the race and became the youngest councilman in san antonio history. a few years later, he campaigned for mayor. >> not going to make a pledge just to get elected. you can't make those kinds of political pledges. absolutist positions not knowing what the future might bring. >> shep: he lost a close election, then went into business for himself, starting a law firm with his brother. he married his long-time girlfriend, erica, and gave politics another try. >> during this campaign and running with a much broader coalition of support. >> shep: in 2009, san antonio voters elected him as the youngest mayor of a major american city. >> i think that's the first time that an ipod has been in the mayor's office in history.

and we'll see what else we can do. >> shep: castro's quick rise to power drew criticism from opponents who accused him of running for mayor as a stepping stone to a higher office. observers see similar irritates between his political career and that of another young keynote speaker. >> there is not a liberal america and a conservative america. there is the united states of america. >> i'm very flattered by the comparison, but i think he's in a completely different league from where i'm at right now. >> shep: but his biggest fan isn't ruling out the possibility of him following the president's footsteps. all the way to pennsylvania avenue. >> i think it's possible. i mean, both of them are harvard graduates. they're both hard workers. they've been blessed with the foundations that great and an education that is great. so i don't see why not. >> shep: mayor julian castro's mom on the 37-year-old and his

similarities with the past. chris wallace with us from fox news sunday. they're very impressed with him in this party. >> they are indeed. i've got to say, some of the people in the obama campaign are comparing him to barak obama, saying he's the hispanic barak obama. boy, all of us remember barak obama in 2004 when he just lit a fire cracker at the democratic convention, the john kerry convention in boston. that's an awful tall order to say you're going to follow that act and be compared to that act. >> shep: it certainly is. for the party to set it up in that way, 37-year-old mayor of san antonio, that's a lot of pressure. >> on the other hand, barak obama was an unknown state senator from illinois. i got to say, i got to confess, before they were named adds keynoters, i never heard of barak obama or julian castro. >> shep: i never have either. i was pronouncing his name wrong five minutes ago. in a minute we'll have a tribute to the kennedys. in the meantime, i wanted to talk very briefly, what it is

that they can accomplish? we look back on the republican convention, the poll suggests there was no bounce of any time. the romney camp said we expect an 11-point bounce between this election of paul ryan and the convention and they got none of that. >> i think they got some. i think if you look at it from the selection of paul ryan, they got about three to five points. >> shep: they were suggesting 11. if the world has changed that that sort of thing doesn't happen anymore. >> that's what i think. particularly given the fact that you have one convention ending on thursday and the next one beginning on tuesday. the only bounce that's really gog matter is look where the race is, maybe a week after this convention is over, when people had a chance to tie jest both messages, then you'll have a sense whether this race changes. i will say the real clear politics average as of this morning was 46.3 for obama and 46.3 for romney. so it's a flat footed tie down to the tenth of a point. but romney is going up and obama

is going down a little bit. it's a toss-up. >> shep: it really is. i don't understand who it is that thinks that the last week of the summer, when people are finishing their vacations and getting kids ready for school and the first week after labor day, when everybody is going back, that anybody is going to be paying any attention to be able -- i know there were pretty good numbers. way down from years before. but does this thing work anymore? i don't get it. >> no, of course it doesn't work and i must say that every four years, we say it's going to change. they'll never do this again. guess what? four years later, they do it again. >> shep: they do. but i wopped for they do it just out of habit and tradition more than anything else. for instance, the democrats -- republicans got no bounce. if the democrats get no bounce here, will they continue to spend this amount of money on this sort of thing? >> the fact is, and people say it's disappointing that romney only got 30 million viewers on his acceptance speech. >> shep: i'll take 30 million every night, chris.

>> beyond that, so would he. the point is, what's he going to do that's going to get 30 million viewers except for the debate? so i think they would take it. the question is, do you need to have it in a city? a lot of it is about organizing and getting your base out and activated. i don't know. my guess is, we'll all sit there and say what a waste of time, money and effort and four years from now, we'll be sit hearing talking to each other. >> shep: it's always a fun trip. i want to say ted kennedy, a tribute to him is coming up. the first convention since he died and he was such an advocate for health care and a new health care law and it would have been quite a thing for ted kennedy to have been able to see what's happened. although he wouldn't have liked the fight happening. joe kennedy will toss to this video, a tribute to the late senator kennedy. let's listen.

>> there are those whose tears have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die. ♪

♪ . >> no matter who writes the history books, when people look back on this century, they will say that edward kennedy was one of the ableist and most productive, most compassionate and most effective men who served in the united states senate in the entire history of the country. [ applause ] >> we show you live coverage of the debate between edward kennedy and his challenger, mitt romney. >> i believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country. i believe that since roe v wade has been the law for 20 years, we should sustain and support it. and i sustain and support that law and the right of a woman to

make that choice. >> on the question of the choice issue, i have supported the roe v wade. i am pro choice. my opponent is multiple choice. when mr. romney, are you going to tell the people of massachusetts which health care program you favor? >> i have a plan, i have a position paper on health care. i'm happy to show it to you, any time you would like. >> mr. romney, it isn't a question of showing me your paper. it's a question of showing all of the people in here that are watching this program the paper. >> they can -- >> they ought to have an opportunity to know. >> i think it's a wonderful idea to take it through piece by piece and -- >> that's what you have to do with legislation. that's exactly what you have to do. >> now he looks like he's for minimum wage. now he's for education reform. if we give him two more weeks, he may even vote for me. mitt romney called me to

congratulate me on reelection in the united states senate. >> the best way to find out about what a party will do is what it has top. we were the ones that drought higher education, medicare programs, the medicaid programs. knocked down the walls of discrimination. we brought a sound economy, sensible foreign policy. those are the essential values of the democratic party, aren't they? >> i love this country. i believe in the bright light of hope and possibility. i always have, even in the darkest hours. i know what america can achieve. i have seen it. i've lived it. and with barak obama, we can do it again. [ cheers and applause ] >> thank you very much.

thank you. this is the cause of my life. new hope that we will break the old gridlock and guarantee that every american north, south, east, west, young, old, will have decent quality health care as a fundamental right and not a privilege. [ cheers and applause ] ♪ >> today's decision was a victory for people all over this country whose lives will be more secure because of this law and the supreme court's decision to uphold it. >> if teddy were here, he would tell us now it's time to roll up our sleeves, get to work, fully implement the law and move on with the business of our

country. >> this one was the long time coming and it's one that i knew my husband would have loved to have seen. everything he did was about the future. it's about going forward. it's about passing the torch to a new generation. ♪ >> those of us who knew teddy and worked with him here, people of both parties know what drove him was something more. ted kennedy's passion was born not of some rigid ideology, but of his own experience. that large heartedness, that

concern and regard for the plight of others is not a partisan thing. it's not a republican or democratic feeling. it, too, is part of the american territory. >> i never shied away from being called a liberal. but what i have done is stand up for my beliefs. >> the work begins anew. the hope rises again and the brave lives on. ♪ >> shep: tribute to the late

senator ted kennedy from the democratic national convention live now in charlotte, north carolina. debbie wasser man schultz, chairman of the democratic national committee. ted kennedy, were he alive works have loved to have seen that law passed and probably wouldn't be surprised by the fight that goes on. >> incredibly moving. i was here when ted kennedy at the last convention essentially knew that it was probably be his last and it was an incredibly moving moment and it was wonderful for me to be part of the house of representatives to help make sure that his dream of making sure everyone in america can get quality affordable health care a reality. >> shep: stay with us. the israeli ambassador to the united states today called out the chair woman and cat goriccally denied that he ever said republican policies were bad for israel. the back and forth began yesterday when the chairwoman, the congresswoman from fellow flax criticized the republican attacks on the president over israel. she told a group of people at the dnc, quote, we know examine i've heard no less than

ambassador michael orrin say that, that what the republicans are doing is dangerous for israel. earlier today ambassador issued a statement saying he ever called them dangerous for i said real and that his nation has friends in both the united states political parties. as i mentioned, debbie wasserman schultz is with us. he says he didn't say that. >> and i didn't say he said that. unfortunately, that comment was reported by a conservative newspaper. not surprising that they would deliberately misquote me. what i always say is that unfortunately, the republicans have made israel a political football, which is dangerous for israel and ambassador orrin hatch said that we can't ever possess that there is any daylight between the two parties on israel because there isn't. and that's harmful to israel. that's what i said and that is accurate. and we have to make sure that in america, we don't have people

who put their love of party in front of their love of israel. as the first jewish woman to represent florida in congress, shep, i take my love of israel to work with me every day and i want to make sure that we reelect president obama. >> shep: debbie wasserman schultz, we're out of time. the program is over for the night, o'reilley is next. thanks so much.

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